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Chelsea have made a £48m bid for Romeo Lavia, going closer to Southampton’s £50m valuation and hoping to trump Liverpool. The last few weeks have seen the Anfield club make a series of incrementally improving offers, but they are still at least £4m off a deal. With Mauricio Pochettino seeking to re-energise Chelsea’s midfield, he has long wanted to bring in two midfielders, and the hope is that Lavia will join Brighton’s Moises Caicedo at Stamford Bridge. There is also a personal connection since the 18-year-old has a great relationship with Joe Shields, the recruitment executive who brought Lavia to Southampton and is now at Chelsea. Liverpool, who travel to Chelsea in their Premier League opener on Sunday, have been frustrated in their attempts to sign the 19-year-old midfielder and have seen three bids rejected for a player who has made just 29 top-flight appearances. After their initial two offers of £34m plus £4m and £42m were turned down, the Reds returned with a proposal worth £46m but that too was rejected by the Championship club. Lavia joined Saints from Manchester City last summer as an 18-year-old for an initial £10.5m. The Belgian made his international debut earlier this year when he was called up by the Red Devils for the Euro 2024 qualifier against Sweden and a friendly against Germany. Lavia shone throughout last season, despite Saints' relegation, featuring 29 times and scoring once. Liverpool are in the market for a midfielder after the sales of Jordan Henderson and Fabinho, with Jurgen Klopp underlining the need to further protect his defence. “That would be not a bad idea," Klopp said last month when asked about midfield reinforcements. "We know that we have to do something there, it is absolutely clear. We are obviously working on solutions.” Chelsea have meanwhile made progress in talks to sign Caicedo but Brighton are now holding the London club to a demand of £90m basic fee. The Blues would then have to add a further £10m to be made up in bonuses and expected clauses. The saga has continued with little movement throughout the summer, as Chelsea have proven reluctant to go beyond £80m. While Brighton, who rarely deviate from their initial asking price, have seen the nature of the talks revolve around pushing Chelsea to go closer to their valuation. There has now been some breakthrough on the structure of a potential deal though, but the expectation is that the Stamford Bridge hierarchy will eventually have to go further and make a £90m-plus offer. Chelsea are hoping to get it done before Sunday’s season opener at home to Liverpool, as Mauricio Pochettino is eager to add more energy to his midfield. Read More Chelsea make Moises Caicedo breakthrough over structure of Brighton transfer West Ham enter race for Folarin Balogun as Arsenal set transfer price Barcelona explore sensational Neymar return as PSG set price for Brazilian superstar

Andoni Iraola hailed acting captain David Brooks for the role he played in Bournemouth’s 3-2 Carabao Cup win over Swansea as the Spaniard celebrated his first victory as Cherries boss. Brooks slotted home a second-half equaliser to cancel out Matt Grimes opener at the Swansea.Com Stadium as the Wales international celebrated his first competitive goal for over two years, and first since returning from cancer treatment. “He was the captain today, and it’s good that he scored. Like the others, he was much better second half,” said Iraola. “He’s trying to push himself and fight for a starting place. It is good to have this kind of competition.” A first goal for the club since his £25mmillion summer transfer from Hamed Traore then gave the Cherries the lead before Jamie Paterson tied matters up again in the 79th minute. Just as it looked as though the second-round tie would go to penalties, Ryan Christie rounded off a sweeping move in the first of eight added minutes to clinch victory for the Premier League visitors. “It was a game with two different halves. We started very badly and we were slow to move the ball,” said Iraola. “The second half was different and we were much quicker, and we moved higher up the pitch. But this is the cup and sometimes you have to suffer. “The attitude and willingness to attack the space in the second half was much better. We were more aware of the situations, and after half-time, the game was more open.” Iraola gave a first start of the season to Wales striker Kieffer Moore before substituting him at half-time. Moore remains a transfer target for his old club Cardiff, but Iraola says he is happy to keep him in his squad. “The situation is the same, it depends on whom leaves the club, but the market can go until the last day,” he added. “We are happy with Kieffer as he gives us different options. Right now, this is the situation, but it can change from one hour to another.” While Iraola had something to celebrate, it was another defeat for new Swansea boss Michael Duff. He said: “You don’t want to lose any game, but it would have been nice to have gone through. Ultimately, they still had to bring their big guns on to see us off. “The strength of their bench shows the gaps have got big again. The gulf between the leagues is now as big as it was 15 years ago. “There are loads of positives. We were really good for 25 minutes and then we defended well, too. There were other parts that were not so good and it’s about stitching the good parts together for 90 minutes.” Duff was delighted to see Paterson claim his goal, saying “He’s never had blistering pace, but he’s a jinker, has good feet and has real quality”, and admitted goalkeeper Steven Benda is on the verge of joining Premier League side Fulham. “It’s a deal that suits the player and the club. We know we need a few people in, but if we don’t, we don’t – we’ll just crack on,” added Duff. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Rob Edwards knows result all that matters as Luton edge past Gillingham Thomas Frank hails Ellery Balcombe after Brentford beat Newport on penalties Alex Neil delight as new signings help Stoke hammer Rotherham in Carabao Cup

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Diogo Jota praises Alexis Mac Allister's range of passing after he bagged an assist in Liverpool's 4-2 win over Karlsruher in a pre-season friendly.

Perhaps it sums up the modern-day Manchester United that even as a Dane scored a high-class winner at Old Trafford, it was not their £72m striker. In fairness to Rasmus Hojlund, who was only denied a fine strike of his own by a goal-line clearance, the newcomer figures quite some way down the list of culprits for United’s fifth defeat of a season that has not even reached October. But as boos greeted the final whistle, Joachim Andersen delivered a goal that meant Roy Hodgson, whose managerial career began when Tommy Docherty was in charge of United, added a victory over Erik ten Hag to the two he secured at Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s expense at Old Trafford. And United, whose two-game revival swiftly came to look a false dawn, were confronted with the reality that one of Ten Hag’s signature feats of his first season is no more. Old Trafford became something of a fortress under the Dutchman. When Brighton visited two weeks ago, United were unbeaten on home turf in 20 league matches, spanning over a year. Now it is two losses in two. Their problems are not confined to the road now and their latest setback came with all four of Ten Hag’s major summer signings starting together for the first time. Not for the first time, issues abounded and compounded one another. United were disjointed, at times shambolic at the back. They looked susceptible to the counter-attack, long a strength of Palace’s, and frail at set-pieces. After keeping consecutive clean sheets, Andre Onana conceded in a manner that posed the question if he might have done better. Sofyan Amrabat’s full Premier League debut came at left-back and suggested the Moroccan midfielder is not a left-back. He struggled and was booked for hauling down the quick, persistent winger Jordan Ayew. The mitigating – and sadly typical - factor is that United’s three senior left-backs are all sidelined yet it was also remarkable when Ten Hag substituted both central defenders who started, bringing on Harry Maguire to operate on his own. Further forward, United displayed neither the necessary conviction nor the requisite quality. Hojlund was much the best of the front three, with Marcus Rashford poor and Facundo Pellestri utterly ineffectual; Ten Hag may parachute the watching Antony back into the team at the first possible opportunity. Alejandro Garnacho, who came on for Pellestri, was altogether more threatening. There was a perverse logic to Casemiro finishing the game on the right wing – United’s top scorer looks their most dangerous attacker at the moment – but it was nevertheless ridiculous. There was a lack of genuine invention, even though the midfield contained both Mason Mount and Bruno Fernandes. United should not take solace in the statistics. They had 77 percent of possession and 19 shots, but as the home side and the favourites who trailed for the best part of 70 minutes, that might be expected. Sam Johnstone denied Fernandes and Hojlund but was not required to make any especially difficult saves. Andersen and Marc Guehi were outstanding but United were not. Subdued before the break, more urgent thereafter, they often seemed to lack both the final ball and the finishing touch. The most invention came from Raphael Varane, whose overhead kick almost yielded a remarkable equaliser and who guided a clever header just past the post. Of the starters, he and Casemiro seemed likeliest to make something happen, and the Brazilian headed just over, but United should not be as reliant on a defensive midfielder in attack. That said, Palace prospered when their centre-backs went forward. They almost combined for a goal when Andersen crossed and Guehi headed wide. Then the Dane delivered a wonderfully clean strike, dispatching a half-volley from 14 yards after Eberechi Eze’s free kick flicked off Hojlund’s head and fell to him. It was an unfortunate assist for a player waiting for his first Old Trafford goal. The majority present had been cheered by the earlier sight of Hojlund on the charge, the new striker powering forward, poking a shot past Johnstone but being denied by Tyrick Mitchell, who executed a goal-line clearance. But a promising start by United gave way to a mediocre display. Perhaps Palace lulled United into a false sense of security with their limp display in the midweek Carabao Cup tie between the sides. With six changes, an altogether stronger side married defensive resolve with menace on the break. In the process, they brought their veteran manager a rare distinction. Only Pep Guardiola had won three away Premier League games at Old Trafford. Hodgson is not often bracketed with the serial Champions League winner but joined him. More immediately, he took Palace above United in the table. And if that may only be a temporary state of affairs, United’s malaise may endure. Read More Manchester United enter another moral maze as Antony return poses questions Antony return to Manchester United will not be a distraction – Erik ten Hag Man United allow Antony to resume training despite assault investigations Manchester United’s struggles continue as Crystal Palace win at Old Trafford Manchester United vs Crystal Palace LIVE: Latest Premier League updates Manchester United enter another moral maze as Antony return poses questions

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Burnley forward Michael Obafemi will miss the start of the Premier League season with a hamstring injury suffered while on international duty. The 22-year-old tore his hamstring in the Republic of Ireland’s 3-0 win over Gibraltar and will undergo an operation later this week before beginning a rehabilitation process. Obafemi joined the Clarets on loan from Swansea in January, and scored two goals in 14 appearances before making his move permanent earlier this month. The injury will be a blow to Vincent Kompany’s attacking options as Burnley make their return to the Premier League. The Clarets reportedly remain in talks to re-sign Nathan Tella from Southampton after he topped Burnley’s scoring charts with 19 goals last term. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

Diego Balleza is a prominent 10-meter diver and is used to wearing small swimsuits that show off his body